Potential Price of my Seafarer

[Pescadote]

Heresy, I know, but I am toying with the idea of selling my Seafarer 228 and going back to an aluminum, bit smaller boat that I can fish nearshore for salmon but also take out on the lakes and rivers. I've put a lot of effort (and $) getting this thing the way I like it though. Here's the specs. It's a 1996 that I have done extensive upgrades / repairs on.

I had to redo the transom, and I also replaced all the through hull fittings. Had a custom made top and swim bracket for my kicker. Radar and 12” Garmin. Reupholstered bolsters and cabin cushions. Repowered in ‘21 with A Mercury 250. New switch panel this year.
Any ideas on a starting price? Also comes with a dual axle trailer with newish tires.
Feel free to private message me.

 

[Pescadote]

Forgot to say, I am located in Salem, Oregon.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

My initial "gut feeling" is the $35k range. I think the two biggest potential drawbacks would be the age of the boat as well as the custom pilothouse. I think the age of the hull is going to bring down the price a bit and I imagine having a non stock looking pilothouse on the boat is potentially going to reduce the number of interested parties. Or at least that's my opinion in that if I was looking, I would and did only looked at the more recent 1998 and newer body styles as well as the stock hardtop. If the boat was older than the 1998 model year, didn't have a hardtop or had something that wasn't stock, I honestly wouldn't consider looking at it. The potential upsides to the deal would be the newer outboard that's only 3 years old, a trailer, radar and potentially newer electronics. But, I again think you're going to find yourself in a smaller pool of potential buyers because of the custom pilothouse and the age of the vessel. Those are just my opinions on the matter of course, it might be something where you get more money than that and hopefully for your sake I'm incorrect. Either way, here are two "similar" boats, even though they're a few years older and don't have a custom pilothouse. Though, they are more recently repowered boats with hardtops, trailers, one has a radar whereas the other does not, kicker motors and so forth. Good luck either way with the potential sale, though I'd honestly just keep what you have at this point as I think you could be upside down on what you've got into the boat compared to what you might be able to sell it for.

https://www.boats.com/power-boats/1991-grady-white-seafarer-9403018/

1990 Grady White Seafarer 22 w/ trailer - boats - by owner - marine sale - craigslist

Great fishing boat. Runs great. Newer Yamaha 200hp 4 stroke with under 220 hours. Sips 2 gallons per hour. Honda 9.9 kicker, linked Professionally serviced. 100 gallon stainless fuel tank Hard top,...

seattle.craigslist.org

 

[Pescadote]

I guess the proof would be in what someone would be willing to pay. I’m not sure why the custom pilot house would be a drawback. I think it looks great and is very functional with the big windows. Mine also has the Seav2 hull which I think is worth more than the ones you listed?

 

[Timcan]

The pilot house is a huge plus on the west coast. I just installed a Grady hardtop on my Seafarer from a buddy who upgraded to a pilot house and the pilot house is by far better. I agree with the above poster you might limit yourself to a west coast buyer but with a new transom, thru hulls, and updated electronics, if the boat is well cared for I can see the price in the 40s.

 

[luckydude]

The pilot house is a huge plus on the west coast. I just installed a Grady hardtop on my Seafarer from a buddy who upgraded to a pilot house and the pilot house is by far better. I agree with the above poster you might limit yourself to a west coast buyer but with a new transom, thru hulls, and updated electronics, if the boat is well cared for I can see the price in the 40s.

I'm the buddy with the pilot house, and yes, while expensive, it's really sweet. I agree with Peter, I think 40's as well.

 

[Salmon_Slayer]

I live in North Plains and have a 228, I know exactly what you're thinking. I purchased a smaller 20' older North River and use that for inshore for rivers and lakes. The Grady is just for Ocean trips, I'd say with the boat prices they way they are and capabilities of a seafarer I'd try $45K range.

How did you know the transom needed rebuilt and who did it? I'm looking for a fiberglass shop to patch up some smaller dings. Thx and best of luck!

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I guess the proof would be in what someone would be willing to pay. I’m not sure why the custom pilot house would be a drawback. I think it looks great and is very functional with the big windows. Mine also has the Seav2 hull which I think is worth more than the ones you listed?

Those are indeed the older SeaV1 hulls... I believe 1992 was the first year of the SeaV2 hull for a 22' Grady White. This is just me and my personal opinion, but I'm not a fan of the 1997 and older models as well as the pilothouse on a Grady White. I think they look great on certain boats, most of them being aluminum, but they do look really good on some fiberglass boats as well. I personally much prefer the look of the stock Grady White hardtop and if you wanted to or if it's colder outside, you could always put up the canvas to keep yourself out of the elements even more. That being said, I've had my 228 Seafarer coming up on 3 years now and have yet to use the canvas that came with my boat. I'm admittedly a bit more of a fair-weather fisherman, but the hardtop does just fine for keeping me out of the elements and I actually really enjoy the breeze coming through. I also don't generally get too terribly cold in that I've fished out in the 30 degree temperatures where it was snowing and was just in jeans, a sweatshirt and a jacket without any of the canvas up. I'm obviously not 100% sure, but I imagine most people are going to want something that's stock and isn't aftermarket like the custom pilothouse you added. Which between that and the age of the hull, I think will make for a considerably smaller group of potentially interested buyers. If the boat was a few years newer with the stock hardtop on there, I think it would be a $50k-$55k+ boat all day long. Again, hopefully I'm incorrect and you can get more money for the boat, these are just my opinions on the matter, of which they're also from someone that spent over a year looking for his boat. So, I'd say I'm fairly decent on what ballpark figures are for these boats, and I even still watch the market to see what is for sale and how much. Of which I think that the quickest and easiest way to figure out the question at hand would be to list it on whatever website you're going to sell it on, put an asking price and see what happens. Either way, good luck with the sale.

 

[luckydude]

I'm not a fan of the 1997 and older models as well as the pilothouse on a Grady White. I think they look great on certain boats, most of them being aluminum, but they do look really good on some fiberglass boats as well.

I beg to differ, I started with the hardtop and went to a pilot house, it is night and day better. MUCH better visibility, less clutter, looks great.
I would have paid a lot more for my boat if this had been an option.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I beg to differ, I started with the hardtop and went to a pilot house, it is night and day better. MUCH better visibility, less clutter, looks great.
I would have paid a lot more for my boat if this had been an option.

View attachment 34036

I'm glad that you like the pilothouse you added to your boat. I've honestly never had an issue with the standard hardtop, nor have I had an issue with visibility or clutter... other than the innermost armrests snagging a shirt when trying to walk by. Though, those are easily remedied by removing them or cutting them off. And sure, the windshield trim while sitting down can be "annoying" as it can be in your line of sight, depending on how tall you are. That being said, I rarely sit down when I'm cruising, so it's not a huge issue for me. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the massive front windows imo, which are a bit silly looking and are the only thing that I see when looking at the boat. I think Grady White's have sexy lines to them, which are taken away from with the pilothouse, especially a rear facing one. I think a forward facing pilothouse would potentially look a bit better or more stock though. I also believe in your other post you said you spent over $24k on it? Which is essentially the same price that I spent on my entire boat. At the end of the day, it's your boat and if it's your cup of tea, then by all means go for it. No offense meant at all, just my thoughts and opinions on the matter, hence the reason for an open discussion on a boating forum.

 

[luckydude]

I'm glad that you like the pilothouse you added to your boat. I've honestly never had an issue with the standard hardtop, nor have I had an issue with visibility or clutter... other than the innermost armrests snagging a shirt when trying to walk by. Though, those are easily remedied by removing them or cutting them off. And sure, the windshield trim while sitting down can be "annoying" as it can be in your line of sight, depending on how tall you are. That being said, I rarely sit down when I'm cruising, so it's not a huge issue for me. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the massive front windows imo, which are a bit silly looking and are the only thing that I see when looking at the boat.

We have different goals. I will be chasing bluefin in this boat and I had one goal: visibility. I got it in spades. I have 180 degrees of visibility through the windows. I will see jumpers out of my peripheral vision, something that would _never_ be possible through Eisenglass.

As for the windshield trim, I'm 6'2" and it's _right_ in my line of sight, it sucks big time for me.

Silly looking windows to you, awesome visibility to me.

Yeah, I spent $24K on it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (granted, I can afford it and I get that most people can't so I'm not pushing this on people, I'm just saying it was right for me). You could do this much cheaper, I think Joe's was around $7 or $8K, Gary's was around $10K. But they used powder coat, I used the same paint that Grady uses. Powder coating that pilot house is $1K, the epoxy paint is 10 times that. I'm a guy that wants to do it right and then not have follow on problems. I'm at the last quarter of my life, I want to enjoy stuff as much as I can, I want to be fishing my boat, not working on my boat.

Is it a good answer for everyone? Nope. Is it way better than the hardtop? Hard yes. Someone else said it perfectly: I have a Parker pilot house with a Grady ride. Perfect for me, I'm very, very happy.

 

[Salmon_Slayer]

I beg to differ, I started with the hardtop and went to a pilot house, it is night and day better. MUCH better visibility, less clutter, looks great.
I would have paid a lot more for my boat if this had been an option.

View attachment 34036

that looks awesome!

 

[Mustang65fbk]

We have different goals. I will be chasing bluefin in this boat and I had one goal: visibility. I got it in spades. I have 180 degrees of visibility through the windows. I will see jumpers out of my peripheral vision, something that would _never_ be possible through Eisenglass.

As for the windshield trim, I'm 6'2" and it's _right_ in my line of sight, it sucks big time for me.

Silly looking windows to you, awesome visibility to me.

Yeah, I spent $24K on it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (granted, I can afford it and I get that most people can't so I'm not pushing this on people, I'm just saying it was right for me). You could do this much cheaper, I think Joe's was around $7 or $8K, Gary's was around $10K. But they used powder coat, I used the same paint that Grady uses. Powder coating that pilot house is $1K, the epoxy paint is 10 times that. I'm a guy that wants to do it right and then not have follow on problems. I'm at the last quarter of my life, I want to enjoy stuff as much as I can, I want to be fishing my boat, not working on my boat.

Is it a good answer for everyone? Nope. Is it way better than the hardtop? Hard yes. Someone else said it perfectly: I have a Parker pilot house with a Grady ride. Perfect for me, I'm very, very happy.

Exactly... while it is great for you and your needs, I simply don't need nor care to have a pilothouse on my boat, as it's an added expense that I'd never utilize and/or potentially gain the money back from. As stated in my comment before, as well as your personal message... "At the end of the day, it's your boat and if it's your cup of tea, then by all means go for it. No offense meant at all, just my thoughts and opinions on the matter, hence the reason for an open discussion on a boating forum." You don't need my approval, as long as you're satisfied with how it looks, then that's all that matters.

 

[luckydude]

Exactly... while it is great for you and your needs, I simply don't need nor care to have a pilothouse on my boat, as it's an added expense that I'd never utilize and/or potentially gain the money back from. As stated in my comment before, as well as your personal message... "At the end of the day, it's your boat and if it's your cup of tea, then by all means go for it. No offense meant at all, just my thoughts and opinions on the matter, hence the reason for an open discussion on a boating forum." You don't need my approval, as long as you're satisfied with how it looks, then that's all that matters.

I guess the question is what value is it to the forum to have you repeatedly state you don't need something? You can say "no offense" all you want, but what you are really doing is sort of shitting on someone else's project. Maybe I'm a big pussy, but your comments seem to run counter to the general vibe that this forum has. We're largely supportive of each other. It's great that you are happy with your hardtop, how about you let me be happy with my pilot house and keep your negative comments to yourself.

 

[Ky Grady]

Due to the nature of where this thread is going, I'm locking it down. Please keep all comments on a positive note. If you don't like something someone has done, keep your comments to yourself. Jeff and I try and keep Great Grady a positive and helpful website. If you feel the need to down someone or something they've done to their boat that you don't like, please feel free to move to the The Hull Truth website as that's normal for them. Apologies to the OP for having his thread derailed.